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PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has criticised the growing tendency among employers to reject job applicants who are habitual smokers. Employers should be concerned only with a person’s ability to work, MTUC secretary-general J Solomon told FMT. “Smoking is not illegal, and companies cannot dictate the personal choices of employees,” he said. Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) director Shamsuddin Bardan agreed, saying such a hiring policy would be discriminatory unless the nature of the job required abstention from smoking. “Unless non-smoking is critical to a business, such as a health or food business, then it is discrimination,” he said. A growing number of companies, especially in foreign countries, are adding “non-smoking” as a job requirement, with dozens of Australian companies doing so. Checks by FMT found that several Malaysian companies had begun to follow suit. Molly Cheah, the president of the Malaysian Council for Tobacco Control, said she supported such a policy.
“More employers should consider this move,” she said. “If you’re an employer, you would want your employees to be healthy.” She added that it made sense for employers to encourage their workers to protect their health. But Solomon said smoking was only one of many factors employers needed to consider if they cared about their workers’ health. “If you want to talk about employees’ health, you must look at it in totality,” he said. “Factors like work stress and the conduciveness of the working environment need to be looked into to see whether they are in line with international safety and health standards.” However, he said it would be fair to set rules on smoking during working hours. “But make sure it applies across the board. If employees aren’t allowed to smoke, then neither should the company’s CEO. Just like a dress code, the rule should apply to everyone.” Shamsuddin said none of MEF’s 500 members had opted to reject smokers when hiring, but he added that he could understand why some companies were adopting the policy. “I believe these employers want to prevent second-hand smoke, ensure their workers are healthy and, perhaps more importantly, ensure their medical costs are kept low,” he said. However, he added, companies could introduce rules to restrict smoking, such as allowing it only at designated areas. “Alternatively, they can provide indirect incentives to those who don’t smoke. Maybe they can reward employees who don’t take any medical leave in a year.” FMT interviewed some smokers for their opinions on the trend. The reaction of Jared, a 45-year-old who smokes 20 cigarettes a day, was typical. “It’s discrimination,” he said. “Smokers also have rights. I wouldn’t take a job if it’s only for non-smokers.” In Japan, one company gave its non-smoking employees an extra six days of paid leave a year after they complained that their smoking colleagues took too much time away from work for cigarette breaks. But Jared said this could also be seen as discrimination. “My smoke breaks take about five minutes and it doesn’t affect my productivity,” he said. “Some non-smokers also waste time playing Facebook or chit-chatting.” Shamsuddin agreed with Jared.
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发表于 29-3-2018 12:10 PM
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